Labour of Love
by ninja-hamsters
Summary: ATLANTIS/SG-1 CROSSOVER / John Sheppard's on temporary reassignment to Earth...
1. Chapter 1

"General, I think there's a mistake on the mission schedule."

General Landry looked up from his paperwork at the interruption. "Colonel Mitchell, vigilant as always." He waved Cameron into the office. "What's the problem?"

Cameron held up the printed sheet. "It says here that Colonel Sheppard is standing in for Carter for our mission to PY7-592 at 1300 hours tomorrow."

Landry leaned on his elbows on the table. "And?"

Cameron paused. "Colonel Sheppard. Of the Atlantis mission."

"I am aware of who Colonel Sheppard is, Mitchell." Landry said as he raised his eyebrows.

Cameron glanced sideways. "So, shouldn't he be in another galaxy, sir?"

Landry leaned back in his chair. "He's on a temporary reassignment." He explained. "He requested time on the home-world and he was granted it. Is there a problem, Colonel?"

"No, no problem." Cameron shifted uncomfortably from one foot to the other. "But, shouldn't there have been a memo or something?"

"Minor reassignments don't get memos." Landry replied simply then added: "In my experience, by the time people have read them, the personnel have already moved on."

"Right..." Cameron hesitated, partly because he knew how true that was. "So, is he on base?" He tried to ask casually.

Landry frowned in thought. "I saw him in the mess hall a while ago, he could still be there." Cameron turned to leave. "I didn't know you knew Colonel Sheppard." He added, stopping Cameron.

"Uh, yes, sir." Cameron coughed to mask a small flush. "We had a posting together before I joined the 302 program. We kept in touch."

Landry nodded, satisfied, and waved Cameron out of the office before returning to his paperwork.

...

"You could have told me you were coming back to Earth." Cameron sat heavily in the chair opposite John Sheppard at a table in the mess hall. John looked up from his meal (mashed potatoes and mystery meat, again) and gave him a lopsided smirk.

"I could have. But then it wouldn't have been a surprise,"

"A surprise? Hell yeah it's a surprise." Cameron's heart was beating a little faster than usual and, not for the first time, wondered how John could look so laid back and in control. "A little warning would have been nice. An email or something."

John narrowed his eyes. "Do you know the definition of 'surprise'?"

"Yes, and you didn't do a very good job of it if I had to come and find you."

"But you _were_ surprised." He pointed out, leaning forward a fraction.

Cameron paused. "Well, yes."

"Then it worked." John leant back into his chair with a smug look on his face.

Cameron shook his head slowly. "I hate you sometimes."

John laughed. "But you love me the rest of the time."

"I wouldn't go that far." Cameron countered with a smile, making John pout in mock hurt. He glanced at his watch. "I'm off at 1800. Wanna get out of here?"

"Sure." John replied with a small shrug and a smile.

...

"Where are we going?" John asked when he noticed they weren't heading towards  
Cameron's apartment. "You haven't moved have you?"

"Jeez, John. You haven't been around for years and you still know where I live?" He laughed. "Nah, I'm still at the same place but I'm sharing with Sam. After she came back from Area 51 she didn't get her own place. Then she went to Atlantis and she never got around to finding one when she came home."

"Makes sense I guess." John agreed. "How is she, by the way?"

"She's fine, yeah." Cameron replied. "Still working too hard, though. Some nights I have to literally pry her away from her lab."

John smiled. "Yup, sounds like the same old Sam." He said fondly. "So where are we going?"

"There's a drive-in showing 'Men in Black' at the park." Cameron replied. "I wasn't going to go because I didn't have a date..."

"Bullshit, Cam!" John laughed. "You _love_ that film. I'm sure Sam would have gone with you."

Cameron shook his head. "Sam puts up with a lot of my crap without having to sit through a movie she hates."

John dropped his jaw comically. "What? How can she _not like_ 'Men in Black'?"

Cameron shrugged. "She says it's because she knows what's really going on out there."

"It's just a film." John said and raised an eyebrow.

"That's what _I_ said. Personally, I think it's just to get out of listening to me quoting the whole thing."

"Then why am I being subjected to the punishment?"

Cameron laughed. "One; because I haven't seen you in so long it's embarrassing, and two; you know all the lines too."

"Fair point." He said, nodding. John looked sideways at Cameron. "So, what's Sam doing tonight then?" He asked thoughtfully.

"Uh, she mentioned something about working on something back at base. Again." He rolled his eyes.

"So... the flat's gonna be empty?" John asked, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively.

Cameron grinned and shook his head slowly.

...

"A neuraliser would be _so_ much less paperwork than non-disclosure agreements," Cameron said on the way back to the house after the film. The lack of alcohol had forced them to drink sugar-filled soda drinks and they'd both eaten their bodyweight in sweets during the movie. The conversation on the drive home so far had most definitely been fuelled by their sugar highs.

John laughed. "Weird shit happens in Pegasus all the time. No paperwork at all."

"Yeah, I might just have to get transferred to Atlantis." Cameron laughed.

"Now that would be interesting." John agreed. "Wonder what Caldwell would think of that."

"Guy's got a whole goddamn spaceship to himself. _I_ wouldn't complain."

John frowned. "I thought you preferred the fighters."

"Yeah." Cameron agreed. "But it's a _spaceship_! I've wanted to fly a spaceship since I was a kid! It's the ultimate of cool."

They laughed and Cameron pulled up outside the house.

"Here we are."

"You haven't changed it at all." John said as they got out the car.

Cameron shrugged. "There's not really much time for home improvements. And we're not exactly here all that much."

"I guess not." John followed Cameron into the house. They passed through the narrow hallway and into the lounge.

"Got beer?" John asked as he slumped onto the old grey sofa.

"You really have to ask?" Cameron replied with a smile, passing a bottle over before joining John on the sofa.

John laughed. "We did call you 'Bartender' for a reason." He took a long drink from the bottle. "I don't think any of us woulda got through that tour without your stash. You definitely earned that call-sign."

"Yeah." Cameron smiled in memory. "Can't believe the Colonel never picked up on that one."

"You kidding?" John raised his eyebrows and laughed. "They all thought the sun shone out your ass. You coulda got away with anything."

"Yeah, a regular Golden Boy." Cameron sighed. "But we both got away with a lot." He took a drink and hooked an arm over the back of the sofa, looking down at the corner of the rug he was toying with with his toe. He tried not to think about what could have happened to both of them if anyone had ever found out about his and John's late night rendezvous.

John gave him a long look. "We did."

Cameron glanced over. John was watching him, waiting patiently at the other end of the old sofa. John had never been good at talking, and Cameron had never been good at reading his silent communications. He'd never mentioned to John that 'Don't ask, don't tell' didn't mean they weren't supposed to talk to each other about it either. Cameron doubted it would have changed anything.

Cameron cleared his throat. "Still in the business?" He asked, trying a different tactic.

John's face softened a little, working out what game Cameron was playing. "Sales took a nosedive in McMurdo. Small market."

Cameron smiled. "Tell me about it. What about Atlantis?"

John's clenched his jaw. "Conflict of interest."

"Right." Cameron looked away. John was Military Leader on Atlantis with a marked background; of course he was keeping his nose clean in that respect. Cameron opened his mouth to speak when he felt John's hand on top of his on the back of the sofa.

"Willing to come out of retirement, though." John said and gave Cameron a cocky smile.

"You like what I'm selling?" Cameron asked smugly.

John took this as a signal and shifted closer to Cameron. "Limited market." He explained with a smile.

Cameron put a hand on his chest and stuck his bottom lip out. "Ouch. That hurt."

John shook his head with a smile and leaned in. His lips covered Cameron's softly and Cameron made a pleased sound in the back of his throat. Taking this as encouragement, John deepened the kiss and reached a hand up to Cameron's bristly hair.

"Well." Cameron said, smirking when they came up for air. "Someone's missed me."

"Like you wouldn't believe." John breathed back and nipped along Cameron's jaw line, making him hiss out when John reached the sensitive spot on his neck. 


	2. Chapter 2

John started tugging at the bottom of Cameron's T-shirt and Cameron pulled back from him to pull it over his head. John took the opportunity to rearrange them both, pulling Cameron's legs onto the sofa and settling himself on his knees between them.

With more skin presented to him, John let his hands explore, running his fingers over the old and recent scars. He never ask about them, and Cameron never asked about his. Bad memories didn't need bringing up. John looked into Cameron's eyes, pupils blown in anticipation and knew his were the same. He leant down and met Cameron in a kiss full of urgency and lust. Breaking apart, John opened Cameron's pants and pulled them and his boxers as far down his thighs as his spread legs would allow. Cameron's cock sprang up hard and ready and John took a minute to run his fingers lightly around it and over Cameron's thighs.  
"John…" Cameron said in a pained voice.

John stilled his hands and looked directly into Cameron's eyes as he lowered his face and took him in in one. Cameron dropped his head back onto the arm of the sofa and brought a hand up to John's head as he worked him, sucking and licking and touching just the way he had all those years ago.

It wasn't long before Cameron jerked his hips and came in John's mouth with a groan. When his brain function returned, Cameron looked up to see John wiping at him with the abandoned T-shirt.

"Bedroom." Cameron said and nudged John off of him and pushed him towards the door.

...

Sam was eating toast and reading the local newspaper in the small kitchen when John shuffled in barefoot, wearing a t-shirt and boxer shorts. He'd forgotten Cameron shared the house and hoped his mussed-up hair didn't look too different from his usual unruly tufts. Cameron hadn't told him what Sam's views on DADT were, and he hadn't thought to ask.

"John?" Sam paused with her coffee mug halfway to her mouth. "What are you doing here?"

"'Temporary Reassignment'." He said, air-quoting with his fingers, taking the question as referring to him being on Earth, not in her house. Reaching over, he switched the coffee machine on. "Got back yesterday."

"Well, it's good to see you. It's been far too long. How's Atlantis?" She sipped her coffee.

John was pretty sure Sam was just making conversation and knew damn well that he'd stayed over with Cameron last night. He knew she wasn't naïve, and he was grateful to her.

"Fine, yeah. Woolsey's doing a decent job up there." John opened and closed cupboards and eventually found the necessary items and poured himself some cereal.

"Good to hear. So how long are you back for?" Sam asked conversationally after a silence.

"A month or so." He replied with a mouth full of Cameron's brightly coloured sugar-coated cereal. "I'm going back on the next Daedalus run."

"So have you got an off-world team?"

John nodded. "Actually they gave me SG-7. But Landry let me kick off with SG-1 while you're out for the day."

"PY7-592, right? Should be a breeze. Just a regular check-up." John nodded in response and they continued their breakfasts in an easy silence.

"Morning." Cameron said as he appeared at the door. He had ruffled, damp hair and a towel round his shoulders that he was using it to get water out his ear.

"Morning, Cam." Sam greeted him with slightly raised eyebrows and took another bite of her toast. "You could have told me John was coming Earth-side."

"I would have done. If he'd told me." He scowled at John.

"I wanted it to be a surprise." John shrugged it off with a small smile.

Cameron grumbled and poured himself a bowl of cereal. With the only two kitchen chairs taken up, he leaned back against the counter and held the bowl in one hand while he ate.  
John stood up to get his coffee and yawned openly.

Sam smirked. "Tired?"

"A little." He replied. "I never sleep well on the Daedalus."

Sam looked at her watch. "You could have slept in longer this morning."

"I would have done." He said and glanced at Cameron. "But I got woken up."  
Sam looked over at Cameron but he looked intent on his cereal. She'd known him for years and was one of the only people he'd ever trusted with knowing his sexuality. He'd mentioned a past involvement with John, but he'd never been open with talking about it.

"Well, I have to get going." Sam said to break the somewhat awkward silence and drained the last of her coffee. "I've got a meeting somewhere in China." She pressed a combination of buttons on a hand-held device. "I'll see you guys later. Don't get into any trouble." She waved and disappeared with the white flash of the Daedalus' Asgard beams.

...

"Well this could be going _so_ much better." Cameron panted as he dived behind a rock and scanned the ridge on the other side of the valley. The team had been split up after being attacked and chased on the way back to the gate. Daniel and Teal'c had gone left along a wooded ridge, John and Cameron had gone right along the opposite ridge.

"I say Sam jinxed us." John used his field binoculars to check the tree line for movement.

Cameron grunted and reached for his radio. "Jackson! Teal'c! This is Mitchell, come in!"  
There was no reply. "Jackson! Teal'c! Shit, where are those guys?"

A few seconds passed before the radio static burst and Daniel's voice came through. "_Mitchell! We're under fire! They're catching up!_"

"Mitchell!" John pointed at the movement as two figures ran past a gap in the trees. A few seconds later, a group passed close behind them.

"Shit." Cameron mumbled then thumbed the radio again. "Ok, Jackson, we'll draw them this way, you get through the gate and get reinforcements."

"_Mitchell, don't be an_-"

"Just do it, Jackson." He interrupted. "That's an order."

"Does he usually follow your orders?" John asked.

"Not yet." Cameron granted. "But if he wants to live he will this time."

Cameron started shooting into the sky to draw the attention of the attackers. It worked and soon there was a large group of angry men running at them fast across the valley.

The two men watched the approaching mob in silence for a moment.

John cleared his throat. "Ok, so they're coming for us now. What if _we_ want to live?"

"Run!" Cameron stood up and started off. John followed and soon caught up.

"This is your plan?" He asked incredulously. "The leader of the mighty SG-1 and all you can come up with is 'run'?"

"Got anything better?" Cameron glared at him. "If we're quick, I think this path is a shortcut to the gate."

They picked up the pace and turned a corner. Only to come face to face with another group of the attackers lying in wait for them. They only had time to look surprised before two pulse shots hit them, spiralling them into blackness.

...

"Morning, Sunshine!" Cameron said brightly when John stirred to consciousness.

"What happened?" He asked thickly as he tried to prop himself up on the damp wall behind him.

Cameron sighed and counted off on his fingers. "My plan sucked. We got shot. We got our asses dragged to this festering hell-hole." He waved a hand to encompass the dark room they were in. There were no windows in the black stone walls, the only light coming from a small flaming torch above the rusty metal door. There were suspicious-looking puddles on the floor and a strong smell of rotting flesh in the air.

John laughed. "Is that the short version?"

"Pretty much." Cameron grumbled.

John sighed. "The best laid plans, and all that."

There was a clang of metal and the door of the room ground open to reveal a tall, heavily tattooed man with giant muscles. He stepped forward.

"Who is the one they call Mitchell?" His voice was deep and gravelly and matched his appearance perfectly.

The men exchanged brief looks then Cameron looked suspiciously at the intruder. "Who wants to know?"

He stood up a little taller. "I serve the mighty Granac."

"Never heard of him." John said offhandedly and looked at Cameron who shrugged and shook his head in response.

"You are in a minority, I assure you." He said, snarling down at them. "All those who have known his wrath cower at his name."

"That's what they all say." Cameron countered.

The man growled. "My master grows impatient. He wishes for Mitchell to be brought to his chamber."

"What for? Tea and crumpets?" Cameron asked and John tried to keep in a laugh. Winding up captors could be a lot of fun.

"Silence!" The man was getting agitated and he flexed his muscles threateningly. "When my master gets impatient, it will be _you_ who pay! I assure you the longer this takes the harsher the treatment will be."

Cameron was about to speak when John stood up, waving a subtle hand for Cameron to keep quiet.

"I'm Mitchell." He said.

A horrid smile revealed black-stained teeth. "Very good. Prepare to be brought before the mighty Granac."

The man stepped forward and slapped John hard around the head with a heavy hand. He sneered as he grabbed him by the front of his shirt and threw him to another man outside. John tried to resist but the blow to the head had stunned him and co-ordinating arms and legs was proving difficult and he was easily held in a tight grip.

"I have to say," John slurred, "if this is how you treat your guests-"

He was silenced by a back-hand slap and he could taste blood before he went limp in the guard's arms.

The door slammed shut and Cameron was left alone. 


	3. Chapter 3

John was dragged through the corridors of a building. The blow to the head stopped him from being able to keep track of how far he'd gone, which meant an escape would be difficult. He was aware of passing through a group of guards and through a large metal door.

Movement stopped and John found himself being held upright by two large hands on his arms. His mind was gradually clearing and brain function was beginning to return.

Just as John was feeling like he could stand up on his own, a hard rod was whacked across the back of his knees and he collapsed to his knees with a sickening crack.

"On your knees in the presence of your master!" The tattooed man snarled from behind him.

John was about to make a snarky comeback when the man on the other side of him delivered a sucker punch. Winded, John folded forward and wheezed.

"Bow down before your master." He said in explanation and they both laughed in low chuckles.

"This is Mitchell?" An authoritative voice stopped the laughing short and the guards shuffled to attention. John looked up towards the voice and saw a large chair half in shadows with a fat man slumped on it.

"Yes, my master."

"Is the machine ready?"

"Yes, my master."

John sat up a little and cleared his throat. "Excuse me, Granac, is it?"

The hard rod connected with his back and John twisted and grimaced through the pain.

"Never address the master by his name!" The tattooed guard shouted.

"Careful." Granac warned. "A damaged specimen produces damaged results."

He grudgingly stepped back. "Forgive me, my master."

Hoping this meant no more beatings; John sat up straighter, wincing at the pain in his back. "Excuse me, _my master_. I know I'm getting the whole 'secret lab' vibe here, but I'd like to know what you're planning on doing." He smiled then added. "That is, if it's not a secret."

"Arrogance." Granac drawled. "That is what I have heard about Mitchell of the SG-1."

"I try to live up to expectations." John gave a charming smile and felt a cut in his lip open more.

"SG-1 is well known in the galaxy." Granac examined his fingernails. "The price for your team is high."

John smiled. "Oh, I get it. You're bounty hunters. What, you're just gonna sell me to the highest bidder?"

Granac glared at him. "We'll do much more than that, Mitchell. As you will soon find out." He turned to the tattooed guard. "Have the machine prepared."

The guard hit John upside the head as he passed and moved into the shadows on the far side of the room.

"What is this machine?" John asked, trying to hide the sense of panic building inside him.

Granac sniffed and regarded John. "There are many places in this galaxy where a large price will be exchanged for a member of SG-1. With this machine, we do not have to limit this to one."

John frowned. "Cloning?"

Granac tilted his head. "In a sense." There was a noise of equipment starting up. "Now, we have little time. We must begin the process."

...

"Nutrition supplements." A guard threw a small wooden box full of what looked like a mix of baby sick and porridge onto the floor by Cameron. This was the first time anyone had been in the room in the five hours since Sheppard had been taken. Cameron had been getting hungry but on seeing the contents of the box, the feeling had gone.

"Yeah, I wouldn't call that food either." He mumbled. The man turned to leave. "Hey, where's my friend?"

"Mitchell is being processed." The man grumbled back without stopping or turning around.

"Processed? What the hell does that mean?" The door slammed shut again. "Hey! Come back!"

It was another hour or so before the door grated open again. Cameron was sitting back against the wall with his eyes shut.

"I'm not hungry." He said without opening his eyes.

"Mitchell!" A voice came from the door way. Cameron opened his eyes and sat up quickly.

"Jackson?" He stood up stiffly and reached to take the proffered weapon from Daniel. "Sam and Teal'c with you?"

"They're here. They're just outside."

"You got a power bar on you? I'm starving." Daniel took a bar from one of his jacket pockets and threw it to Cameron. He ripped the wrapper of the bar and jammed it into his mouth and closed his eyes. "That's good. I don't know how much longer I could resist this pig slop they gave me." He kicked the box and it spilled thickly over the sides.

"Nice." Daniel grimaced at the sight. With a frown he looked around the room. "Where's Sheppard?"

"I don't know." Cameron admitted. "They wanted to take me somewhere but the _idiot_ wanted to take my place."

"I can see how they'd have got confused." Daniel mumbled earning a glare from Cameron.

They made their way out through a short corridor lined with more rusty doors, no doubt leading to other cells.

"The others are just round here." They turned a corner to find the rest of the team keeping guard.

"Sam, Teal'c, good to see you guys." Cameron smiled and Sam gave him a small hug.

"You gave us quite a scare when you weren't on the planet." She said. "Glad to see you're alright."

"Yeah, well, we still have to find Sheppard."

"This place isn't that big, he can't be far." Sam said positively. "Let's go."

They started through the corridors, following round corners and through doors.

"Patrol." Sam whispered, retreating back round the corner and signalling the others to stay back. They watched in silence from the shadows as the small group of muscular men stomped past.

"Do you know who these guys are?" Cameron asked quietly once they'd gone. They carried on their route through the building.

Sam nodded. "We asked around and the Tok'ra eventually told us they'd infiltrated a kind of inter-galactic black market ring."

"Bounty hunters?"

"Exactly." Sam agreed. "Except the Tok'ra have had their eye on this particular bounty hunter for quite a while."

"Apparently his books don't add up." Daniel added.

"He's cheating the big shots." Cameron deduced.

Sam nodded. "So the Tok'ra had a spy based here but they haven't discovered anything yet."

Daniel stopped short as a pained shout echoed down the corridor. "Did you hear that?"

"Colonel Sheppard." Teal'c said.

Sam looked round the corner. "He must be in that room at the end."

Cameron took Sam's place and looked. There was a long corridor with a single door at the end. He turned back. "You mean that heavily guarded room that we have no chance of getting into unseen?"

"That's the one." Sam said, smiling weakly.

"Well, we have to get through them." Cameron shrugged.

Daniel raised his eyebrows. "We can't just go out guns blazing."

"Attacking the guards would indeed draw attention to our presence." Teal'c agreed.

"I hate to say it but that's our only option." Sam said. "There's no other way in." 


	4. Chapter 4

"The process is nearly complete." Granac stated.

John barked out a shout as a stronger-than-comfortable electric tingle made its way up his body. He'd been stripped naked and was lying in what looked like a glorified bath-tub full of blue liquid of a strange consistency. There were tubes running from pumps into the tub and the whole thing vibrated in a horribly disturbing way that made his skin feel thick.

"What the _hell_ are you doing to me?" He asked through gritted teeth.

"You are being doubled." Granac explained. "And doubling you doubles our reward."

There was the sound of shouts and P-90 gunfire outside the door.

A guard stepped forward. "My master, we have intruders!"

"Your teams rescue attempt has only handed themselves to us." Granac sneered down at John.

Suddenly the door burst open and Teal'c appeared followed by the rest of SG-1. It was probably a spectacular sight to see but John's eyeballs were vibrating in his skull which spoiled it a little.

Granac stood up from his chair. "Your bravery as a fighting force is indeed legendary throughout the galaxy and your attempt to rescue your leader is noble. But there is no hope-"

A short burst of P-90 fire cut the speech off and Granac's lifeless body slumped back into the chair.

"God that guy was pissing me off." John said through chattering, gritted teeth.

"Don't mention it." Sam said and joined Teal'c in securing the room.

Cameron and Daniel approached the machine. "John, are you alright?" Cameron asked.

"Uh, not really." He breathed a laugh and shivered. "You think you can get me out of this thing?"

"Sure." Cameron reached forwards to grab John's forearm. Where their skin touched, a green sticky substance appeared. Cameron made a face. "Ew, what? What is that?"

He managed to pull John up and out of the tub and held him up by the shoulders. Daniel took his jacket off and handed it to John. After a moments consideration he decided on tying it backwards around his waist to protect his dignity.

The green jelly on Cameron's arm was drying and becoming tacky. He tried to wipe it off but his hand almost got stuck to it. "Urgh, that's just gross."

John shuddered. "Let's get out of here."

...

"Hey, Sheppard." Cameron said softly as John drifted awake. He was in an infirmary bed, clean but extremely bruised, with SG-1 at the foot of his bed.

"Hey." He mumbled back.

"How are you feeling?" Sam asked.

"Exhausted."

"You look like you took a hell of a beating." Cameron asserted. "What were they doing to you in that tub?"

"Trying to clone me," John said, closing his eyes with a sigh.

"_Clone_?" Daniel furrowed his brow.

Teal'c raised an eyebrow. "For what reason?"

"The guy was a bounty hunter." John shrugged. "Thought he'd get twice as much money by selling me to two different people."

"Now that's a business plan." Cameron had to agree.

"Did he manage to do it?" Sam asked concerned.

John frowned. "He said the process was nearly finished just before you arrived. But I didn't see anything." He shook his head

"Could he have been bluffing?" Daniel asked.

"Possibly." Sam concurred.

"Maybe it didn't work at all." John shrugged. "But it sure as hell hurt like a bitch."

Cameron smiled and nodded. "You do look like shit."

"Gee, thanks, Mitchell." John said sarcastically and rolled his eyes.

"Well, it's great to see you're okay, Sheppard, but I've got to go." Daniel turned to leave. "See you later."

"I too am required elsewhere." Teal'c stated.

"Okay, see you round, Teal'c." Cameron waved as the Jaffa left.

John opened his mouth to speak when suddenly his face twisted in pain and he sat up, doubling over and holding his stomach.

"What? What is it?" Cameron asked in panic.

Sam went round the side of the bed and tried to hold him still. "John, are you okay?"

"John?"

He gasped and squeezed his eyes tight. "Get the doctor." He breathed. Sam and Cameron exchanged worried looks and Sam hurried off to find Dr Lam.

"John, what's happening?" Cameron tried to sound calm. John groaned and continued writhing in pain until Dr. Lam appeared.

"Okay, Colonel." She said calmly, stepping towards him and holding his shoulders lightly. "Can you just lie back for me? Okay, that's it." She injected a sedative into John's arm and he seemed to settle down a bit.

"Carolyn, what's going on?" Cameron asked with concern.

"I don't know yet." She admitted. "He seems to have severe abdominal pains. Stay here, I'm going to run some tests." With that, two nurses wheeled John's bed into another room.

...

"You realise these pictures _never_ look like _anything_, right?" Cameron said as he handed the ultrasound image to Sam to have a look.

Her eyes widened. "Is that what I think it is?"

Dr Lam frowned and nodded. "That image is almost identical to that produced in the second trimester of pregnancy."

There was a silence.

"Pregnancy?" Cameron raised his eyebrows. "Are we still talking about John?"

Sam ignored him. "How?"

Dr Lam shrugged. "I really don't know. All I know is that there is currently a foetus growing inside Colonel Sheppard."

There was a moment of silence before Cameron clicked his fingers and turned to Sam. "Cloning..."

Something visibly clicked inside Sam's mind. "Cloning, of course. John said the bounty hunter was trying to clone him."

Dr Lam looked confused. "But the cloning process creates a genetic replica of something." She shook her head. "That doesn't explain why the foetus is so developed."

"No." Sam agreed. "But he wasn't trying to create a clone _baby_. He wanted another _fully grown_ version."

Dr Lam still wasn't convinced. "But that's not how cloning works."

"That's not how _our _process of cloning works." Sam pointed out. "Perhaps this method involves some kind of mitosis, or something."

"Accelerated growth."

"Precisely." Sam looked proud of working out the problem. "Which could be why there was no sign of pregnancy when we rescued John."

"Hang on." Cameron interrupted. "Accelerated growth? That means we're gonna have two fully-grown Sheppards walking around in a few hours?"

...

Cameron stared at the very large baby bump protruding up under the bed sheet. "Geez, John. Planning on slowing down any time soon?"

John sighed in frustration and scowled at Cameron. "This is horrible. And you're not helping."

"Sorry." Cameron said with a grin.

"The doctor said something about – mitosis."

Cameron grimaced at the image. "Yeah. Gonna be one hell of a show. Forgive me if I don't stick around for that one."

John jerked suddenly and brought his hands to the sides of the bump. Cameron made to stand up and get the doctor but John stopped him.

"No, I'm fine." He assured. "It's just my skin tearing itself slowly apart. You know, I'll never look the same again."

Cameron stuck his bottom lip out in mock sympathy and they both cracked up.

"So, what are you gonna call him?" Cameron asked after a moment.

"Urgh!" John threw his head back. "I'm trying not to think about it. John Junior, I guess. It's as good as any."

Cameron frowned. "You're not taking this very seriously."

"You try it!" John spat back. "Knowing that at any time your stomach's gonna rip open a la Alien and an accelerated-growth replica of yourself is gonna pop out-"

He stopped his rant and looked genuinely scared as he clutched at his belly again.

"John?" Cameron asked hesitantly.

"I- think it's starting."

-..—

"Wake up, Sunshine!"

John stirred but kept his eyes closed. "Is it over?"

"Yeah."

"And?"

Cameron looked down at the tiny baby in his arms. "He's gorgeous."

John scrunched his face up. "Don't get too attached to it. It'll be a full blown carbon copy of yours truly in a few hours." He sighed in frustration.

"So when did you get the ears?" Cameron asked curiously, ignoring John.

John frowned. "What?"

"The whole pointy-ness." Cameron explained. "When did they start doing that?"

"What do you mean? They were always like this."

"Really?" Cameron raised his eyebrows. "Coz this little guy doesn't look like an elf."

"Hey!" John snapped his eyes open to glare at Cameron and risked a look at the baby and frowned again. "But you're right. And he doesn't look much like my old baby pictures,"

"I thought he was your clone." Cameron looked at John.

"Yeah. Me too."

...

"Well, he's not actually a clone." Dr Lam announced as she returned with test results.

"He's not?" Cameron and John asked together.

"No. He definitely has DNA from two distinct parents."

Cameron looked confused. "So the bounty hunter mixed a bit of someone else's genetic-juice in there by mistake?" He guessed.

Dr Lam shook her head. "No, actually we know both of the parents."

"We do?" John asked in surprise.

"One, obviously, is Colonel Sheppard himself." She nodded her head in his direction and paused. "And the other is you, Colonel Mitchell."

"_Me_?" Cameron looked dumbfounded.

"Apparently so. Somehow you managed to contaminate the clone with your own DNA somewhere along the process."

John groaned in realisation. "When you pulled me out the machine."

Cameron nodded. "Of course. I grabbed his arm and this goo appeared all over my arm. Took ages to get that off. That must have been it."

Dr Lam nodded. "Quite possibly."

Cameron sighed. "So now we won't have a Sheppard-clone walking around, we'll have a Sheppard-Mitchell hybrid instead."

"Essentially." Dr Lam glanced at the test results page. "But not walking just yet."

"Huh?"

"The contamination and interruption of the cloning seems to have slowed the growth acceleration." She explained. "Little John Junior here should grow at the same or similar rate as a normal human. Excuse me." She added as her pager went off.

Cameron turned to John with a forced straight face. "You know what this means?"

"That I just had your baby?" John guessed.

Cameron cracked a smile. "No. We have to change his name."

...

The night before the Daedalus was scheduled to leave for Atlantis a month later, John and Cameron lay on the bed with the baby asleep (finally) between them.

"So, are you gonna stay on Earth?" Cameron asked in a soft voice.

"I can't, Cam, you know that." John replied quietly. "I have responsibilities on Atlantis. That's where my life is."

"Your life could be here. What about Junior?"

"You really think the Air Force would let us keep him?" John asked doubtfully.

Cameron shrugged. "They have so far."

"There's only so much Landry can say to defend us."

"This doesn't even have to be against regulations." Cameron sighed. "Anyone could've helped you out of that machine. You could have found you were having Teal'c's kid, for Christ's sake."

"True." John agreed. "But raising him together would still draw attention and beg questions."

"And essentially ruin both our careers." Cameron's shoulders sagged a bit.

"Exactly."

Cameron went silent then sighed. "I just don't want my son to be out of my life so soon." He let his fingers brush through the dusting of hair on Junior's head.

John paused in shock. "Is that what this is about? Cam, I'm not taking Junior away from you."

"What?"

"Don't get me wrong, Atlantis is an amazing place." John said and ran a finger down the baby's soft cheek. "But I wouldn't want my son to grow up with no other kids his age and in a city that's constantly at risk." He paused. "I want him to stay here. If that's alright with you?"

Cameron looked down at Junior and smiled. "That'd be perfect with me."


End file.
